play it for me [video]

[oncearanger]

[The screen clicks on. There are stacks of paper on every side of Billy's room, with wire prototypes strung together. He looks weary and a little uncomfortable for a second, but this request requires a visual presentation.]

Do any of you happen to have experience with piano construction? I'm willing to trade services for materials, of course, and I'd like to help as much as I can. But my usual construction projects are much closer to this:

[Billy pushes a button on a remote in his hands, and then a little round robot walks on the desk that the tablet is propped on. It's a green baseball-sized bot that takes up most of the screen, greatly resembling a pea with tiny hands and feet. It 'smiles' and waves hello in a mechanical back-and-forth, then waddles out of sight.]

I can trade you a similar robot---it's useful for retrieving small items from small spaces, and it's easy to control from up to half a mile away. I'd like to add a camera mount with an additional viewing screen on the remote control when I have the materials for it. Or perhaps I can build something for you, or fix something you already own.

But this piano project is very important to me. I'd appreciate any help at a fair price.

Comments

[gaburincho]

Sometimes he handles stuff on his own, because he's the coolest-- [a pause for dinosaur petting but I've got teammates! And they combine their Voltasaurs with my Voltasaur until we've got a bigger robot.

[Shrug.]

[oncearanger]

[Billy looks very interested. Hmmm.]

Are all their Voltasaurs different?

[gaburincho]

Yeah, yeah, we've got a bunch

[Now you've got him going, Billy. He looks more and more excited as he continues.]

There's seven living Kyoryugers, and two Spirit Rangers, and all together we've got nine outta the Ten Great Voltasaurs! Bragigas is sleeping somewhere, but Ramirez and Tessai are looking for him... the rest of us're busy fighting bad guys named Deboss.

[oncearanger]

...Rangers?

[There's a wide-eyed Billy.]

You wouldn't happen to wear costumes that resemble spandex and helmets, would you? I'm sorry, I've just heard of something similar.

[gaburincho]

[Well, that was weirdly specific. But Daigo lives in a world where he's the leader of the thirty-seventh Sentai, so he goes for the most obvious explanation.] Ah, are we famous?

[He lifts his hand to make a peace sign.] I'm the Fanged Hero, Kyoryu Red!

-private out of habit

[oncearanger]

No, I'm afraid I've never heard of you.

[He shakes his head, then smiles]

I'm asking because I'm a Ranger too. Blue, but my robotic dinosaur companion isn't here with me.

private; 1/2 sorry

[gaburincho]

[?!] Woah, seriously?!

2/2

[gaburincho]

[That moment over, he takes a minute to visibly collect himself.]

A Blue Ranger... like Nossan... [He nods to himself, then to Gabutyra.]

Pretty cool! What're the chances, huh?

So? What's your partner like?

[oncearanger]

Mine's not sentient, and he doesn't shrink. But he's reliable, and I've fought well.

[gaburincho]

Well, what more can you ask for from a partner, right? Being there for you's their whole job, sentient or not.

So? How's protecting the world going for you guys? [Because some things are the same in every universe.]

[oncearanger]

It was going fairly well. We had a few setbacks, but we always rediscovered our power and pulled through.

It didn't get too difficult until I became involved in this war and was separated from them.

[gaburincho]

Sounds like you're as good a team as we are! Not a surprise, that's what's so great about fighting together...

[He shrugs, easily.]

Yeah, sure, but you'll get back to 'em! I bet they're pretty strong, right? [Not as strong as his teammates, of course. But then no one is.] They'll be okay even if you don't go on home right away.

[oncearanger]

I hope so. There's someone else who can lend a mechanical hand.

But here I am, and here I stay. I wish I had the resources to work on larger projects, but I suppose I'm getting strong enough.

I just miss my Zord. He would've rolled right over some of the armies we've faced.